If the Toronto Maple Leafs fire Kyle Dubas they may also lose this player

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Joshua Deeds
October 12, 2022 (3:43 PM)

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Kyle Dubas has been the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, since 2018-2019. In his time running the front office, the Maple Leafs have made the playoffs 4 times in 5 years, in 2020 losing the qualifying round to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the bubble.

The last 4 playoffs have had a common result; a first-round exit for the team, despite Dubas loading the club with NHL talent available during free agency and the trade deadline.

«All I can say is that everything I've observed, that I felt strongly and continue to feel strongly that Kyle is the right person to take this organization forward,» Shanahan said in 2018, a few months after the Leafs lost a seven-game first-round series to Boston. «I'm comfortable with Kyle having people around him that support his vision. I think that his vision for our team and for the game of hockey is most reflective of the direction we've been going from day one. And I've seen how he uses all the assets here.

It's been speculated in the media, this year may be the last year of Dubas heading the Maple Leafs front office.

Dubas along with Shanahan has invested time and money into superstars, and analytics and shaped the core into a fast, skilled, and aggressive unit. The results showed, despite the Tampa Bay Lightning showing them the door in the first round, the Maple Leafs put up a team record in 2021-2022 with 115 total points in a season.

«I thought we had a very good regular season, but I consider that a significant difference between us and the team that won our division in Florida,» Dubas said at the beginning of training camp. «So to me, there's still a lot of room for us to grow in that regard and our goal has to be to win our division. That's where we compete most. You know, I understand that's not going to placate anybody; everyone's going to say, OK then it's going to shift to, let's get it done in the playoffs.

The results which Dubas has produced in Toronto has resulted in consistency, but it's also a double-edged sword for Toronto, as they will have to consider Auston Matthews' side of moving on from the GM.

«Let me give you another bold prediction that didn't make it in that is kind of related to the two is, I believe the future of Kyle Dubas in Toronto will actually have a significant impact on Auston Matthews and staying in Toronto.

I think they're very tight. I think Auston Matthews is a big believer in Kyle Dubas and the work that's been put into this point. And the fact that he's been dangling out here this year without a contract extension into the following season, I'm curious to see how that's played, and that's tied into one of the predictions I made, which is that Kyle Dubas walks at the end of the year.

If there is any truth to what Seravalli has to say, Matthews and Dubas may save each other's job in the long-run, but the onus should fall on both to produce good product on the ice and for Matthews to lead the team past the first round this season.